They also hope to reverse-engineer other marine life forms, says Parker. “We’ve got a whole tank of stuff in there, and an octopus on order.”

This article is reproduced with permission from the magazine Nature. The article was first published on July 22, 2012.

12 Comments

1. 1. Rev.Corvette 01:16 PM 7/23/12

   Thank you so much for the Rat Jellyfish... this is more terrifying than fiction. Well justified if we can cheat the reaper? You think?
   

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2. 2. Vyvyan 02:10 PM 7/23/12

   I think it's a wonderful work of scientific art! It does not need any kind of medical "utility" for its justification. Creativity is the only way to "cheat the reaper": whether by writing a poem, painting a picture or creating such a marvel of genetic engineering. "Unnatural" is not a dirty word: civilization is unnatural by definition.

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3. 3. Hlavco 04:46 PM 7/23/12

   This is really cool, but... did they really just patent a jellyfish? I can see that sort of thing getting out of hand eventually.

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4. 4. Cyp450 07:42 PM 7/23/12

   I think I would be more enthusiastic if animal tissues were not used. It is cool that tissues can be crafted onto synthetic material (lots of medical uses) but something about this just bug me and I can't put my finger on it. Oh well, I will know what that is when I am officially 'old'.

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5. 5. Mimosa Pudica 09:41 PM 7/23/12

   And now you can grow a pet like plant that moves and closes its leaves when you Tickle It!.. Google pet TickleMe Plant. No joke ...this is real and actually was easy to grow from seeds,

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6. 6. Joseph C Moore, Cpo USN Ret 10:53 PM 7/26/12

   What is with these esoteric and useless studies? How much money and time was pi**ed away on this project?

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7. 7. Joseph C Moore, Cpo USN Ret 10:57 PM 7/26/12

   Vyvyan, aside from the stupid cutsey spelling of your name, that statement of yours is inane.

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8. 8. ecviljoen36@gmail.com 12:31 AM 7/27/12

   Must agree with Joseph Moore
   Science today acts like a baboon with a paint brush the and its called art
   What an utter waste of time and money
   Mimosa, we have several plants in South Africa that does that naturally, its called "Kruidtjie--roer--my--niet" freely translated "do not touch me" Mellianthus specie

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9. 9. Pedrocelli in reply to Joseph C Moore, Cpo USN Ret 04:20 AM 7/27/12

   Joseph, try reading the whole article. The last paragraph on page one describes a reason why this experiment could result in something quite useful in medical research.

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10. 10. kfinel 11:54 PM 7/27/12

    Scientific American, Nature Magazine, Harvard and Dr. Kit - this article is an embarassment. This cell structure growth project did not "build a Jellyfish." A Jellyfish is a complex living organism with an eye and brain. Scientists must be very careful what information they deliver to the media and to the public. Next time kindly get some help.
    
    

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11. 11. jackvandijk in reply to ecviljoen36@gmail.com 09:00 AM 8/2/12

    wij noemen het "kruidje roer me niet".

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12. 12. Ramil 04:47 PM 8/4/12

    Why is this more exciting that Volta's original 19th Century discovery that frog muscles contract when connected to an electric current? After 200 years, and the invention of silicone rubber, it is nice to see that an elastic sheet can be made to simulate the action of an opposing muscle. Attaching living cells to an artificial substrate and making them imitate the action of a jelly fish is just tinkering. The cells will not reproduce, and their contraction depends on the application of an external electric field. Also, they will die if nutrients are not added to the water, and metabolic products removed. So, in essence, this does nothing but imitate the MOVEMENT of a jellyfish. It was no less an authority than Svengali who gave up disgust (in the silent movie) when he realized that what he was doing was nothing more than "Svengali making love to himself."

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